Heel-breasting machine.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

W. J. MITCHELL. HEEL BREASTING MACHINE.

. N LED .I 11.20 1902. N0 MODEL. APPLIOATIO B1 A I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' no MODEL.

No. 717,892. PATENTEDJAN. 6, 1903.

' W. J. MITCHELL.

HEEL BREASTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION TILED JAN; 20, 1902. l

2 SHETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WINFIELD J. MITCHELL, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TO JAMES R. MITCHELL, GEORGE F. SUMMERS, AND WILLIAM T. ROSS, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL-BREASTINQ MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,892, dated January 6, 1903.

Application filed January 20, 1902. Serial No. 90,371. (No model.)

T at whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, WINFIELD J. MITCHELL, of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I-Ieel-Breasting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for breasting so-called Louis heels, having breasts to which are curved from the top lift to the intersection of the breast with the shank portion of the sole, the curvature being such that the heel cannot be breasted by a reciprocating knife which moves from the top lift toward the sole while cutting the breast.

It has long been the practice to make Louis heels by covering a wooden block of the proper form with leather or other material; but heels made in this way are fragile and not adapted for rough usage. More recently Louis heels have been made of lifts nailed together in the usual way.. These heels have been breasted either by a band-saw or by a rotary cutter, each of these means being open to objections, the band-saw being slow in its operation and the rotary cutter difficult to keep in order and dangerous to the fingers of the operator.

My invention has for its object to enable a 0 Louis heel to be breasted by a reciprocating knife adapted to operate with relative rapidity and safety.

Theinvention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a heel-breasting machine embodying my invention, a Louis -heeled o shoe being shown in position to be breasted.

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of said machine. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation. Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5 5 of 5 Fig. 4, showing in section a heel in position to be breasted and the breasting-knife as it appears while breasting the heel. Fig. 6 represents a view similar to Fig. 5, the heel and breasting-knife being omitted. Fig. 7 rep 5o resents a section on line 7 7 of Fig. 4.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, 0. represents a carrier, to which is affixed a curved breasting-knife b, the curvature of the knife in cross-section being shown in Fig. 5 and being such that the cutting edge of the knife is adapted to form the curved breast of a Louis heel c, said breast being curved inwardly and backwardly from the front end of the top lift to about the center of the height of the heel and then outwardly and forwardly to the shank portion of the sole of the boot or shoe. The carrier a is movable toward and from the heelsupporting bedhereinafter described, means being provided for supporting, moving, and guiding the carrier, so that a reciprocating movement is imparted to the knife I), the means here shown being a rod ct, to the upper end of which the carrier ais affixed, a 7c fixed guide o in which the rod a is adapted to slide, a spring a which normally raises the carrier and knife, and a treadle or other suitable device (not shown) connected with the lower end of the rod a, whereby the rod, carrier, and knife maybe depressed to cause the knife to breast the heel. The rod a is prevented from turning in the guide a by means of a stud a entering a groove a formed in the rod.

My invention is not limited to the described means for supporting and reciprocating the knife I), it being obvious that any othersuitable means for accomplishingthis result may be employed without departing from the spirit 8 5 of my invention.

d represents a fixed support below the breasting-knife, said support being preferably a horizontal plate or table, as shown in Figs. land 2. 0

6 represents a bed which is mounted on the support 01 and has in its upper side a cavity 6, formed to fit one side of the heel 0 when the heel is turned sidewise with its tread-surface substantially at right angles with the 5 support (1 and parallel with the direction of movement of the breasting-knife. The bottom of the cavity e is curved to fit the side curvature of the heel, as clearly shown in Fig. 7 and at one end of said cavityis formed I00 a lip or flange e which bears against the top lift of the heel, the form of the bottom of the cavity and the lip e enabling the bed to so engage the heel as to prevent horizontal displacement thereof in any direction. The bed 6 is so arranged that when the heel is placed upon it in a sidewise position, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 7, the forward portion of the heel will lie in the path of the breastingknife, so that when the knife descends it will move across the heel from one side thereof to the other and in a direction substantially parallel with the tread-face of the top lift, thus cutting away the surplus material from the front end of the heel and forming the curved breast.

It will be seen that the movement of the breasting-knife relatively to the heel and sole is at right angles to the movement of the knife in the ordinary type of heel-breasting machine employing a reciprocating knife, the form of the breast being due to the curvature of the knife.

The bed 6 is preferably detachably connected with the machine, so that beds with cavities of different sizes may be used interchangeably. The bed is adjustable, so that it may be raised or lowered and inclined at various angles as the shape of the heel may require. To this end I provide adjustable connections between the bed and the support d. In this embodiment of myinvention said connections comprise a central boltf, having a head f, seated in a socket in the bedebelow the cavity 6', and a nutf seated in a cavity in the under side of the support d. Said connections also comprise a plurality of bearing screws or studs 9, which are vertically adj ustable on the support (1 and bear against the under side of the bed 6, said screws being grouped around the central boltf, as shown in Fig. 6,andbeingindependentlyadjustable. It will be seen that the boltf and studsgenable the bed to be raised and lowered and to be inclined either lengthwise or sidewise, the nutf being loosened whenever it is desired to adjust the bed and tightened to hold the bed rigidly against the studs g. The front end of the bed is provided with a knife-block h, of yielding material, such as sole-leather, affixed to the bed by screws h h and arranged so that the cutting edge of the knife meets it at the end of the breasting operation.

I have characterized the heel which my improved machine is intended to breast as the Louis heel; but I do not limit myself to a machine adapted to breast the style of heel here shown, as myinvention may be embodied in a machine adapted to form a breast of any shape by a movement across the heel and parallel with the top lift in contradistinction to a movement from the top lift toward the sole, as in the usual type of breasting-machine.

I claim 1. A heel-breasting'machine comprising a carrier having a curved breasting knife, means for supporting and guiding said knife, a bed formed to engage one side of a heel and arranged to support the heel sidewise in the path of the knife, said bed having provisions for preventing horizontal displacement of the heel, a fixed support below said bed and adjustable connections between the support and bed, whereby the position of the bed may be varied.

2. A heel-breasting machine comprising a carrier having a curved breasting knife, means for supporting and guiding said knife, a bed formed to engage one side of a heel and arranged to support the heel sidewise in the path of the knife, said bed having provisions for preventing horizontal displacement of the heel, a fixed support below the bed, and an adjustable connection between said bed and support, comprising a central bolt engaged with the bed and support, and having a head and a tightening-nut, and a plurality of bearing-studs adjustably secured to the support and directly supporting the bed.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WINFIELD J. MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, GEo. F. SUMMERS. 

